Oblivious
by UnluckyWarrior
Summary: "A world like a game."  Is such a thing possible?  When a boy and his friends are thrust into such a world they find that it's not all fun and games.  Hardship and terror can be met when childish wishes come true.
1. Chapter 1

He couldn't help but, laugh at her a little bit. She was so funny when she was being sarcastic and he'd always find himself laughing more then he probably should be.

Brandon grinned at her and nearly bounced up and down with each chuckle. "Hehe…that's a good one Kelly!" He stuck his tongue out between his teeth and closed his eyes giving her one of his famous grins.

Kelly rolled her eyes at her friend as they walked. The two of them were heading down the school hallway and they blinked at the shrill sound of the final bell. Kids pushed and shoved around them in the scramble to get home and watch TV. Fortunately, Brandon and Kelly weren't in much of a hurry as the two of them were heading over to her Dad's house to play some video games, he lived close enough to walk.

Brandon made an excited gesture, using his entire body for effect and Kelly snickered at him. He was a tall boy with straight, light brown hair that hung down on his forehead , but wasn't particularly long and his eyes were a light blue. He wore a blue shirt with a single lighter blue stripe on his chest and simple jeans. A fantastically neon yellow jacket covered his arms in the cool autumn air. It's color so vivid it occasionally caused people to stare, but he certainly didn't mind.

Kelly was dressed a bit more modestly. She wore a black and grey striped turtleneck with black sweatpants and a matching hooded jacket. An old worn-out belt was slung loosely around her waist, she adjusted her clothes every few moments to keep them neat and trim. Her chestnut hair was shoulder length and layered. From it's part on the left it curled around her face with bangs long enough to fall into her eyes. Fortunately the girl was fond of seeing so she pulled them out of the way. The ends of her hair twisted into unruly curls. Kelly's eyes were a darker more dull blue with terribly noticeable bags underneath them, implying that sleeping wasn't a common thing in her life. She was fairly short, especially when standing next to a monster like Brandon, and very scrawny. She smirked at her friend as he bounced around excitedly, so hyped up for nothing more then visiting her house.

"Kelly! Brandon!" A rather high pitched voice cooed out for them and they stopped with a mutual wince. Turning around they took notice of three other girls walking in their direction. The girl in front ran ahead and looked the two of them over with a somewhat coy smile. Her hair was long, blond and wavy and her eyes a bright blue-green. She wore a hip blue skirt and a well matching sweater with knee socks and shiny black shoes. "Hehehehe!" She giggled and locked her arms behind her back to lean forward in somewhat exaggerated cuteness. "Hi Brandon!"

Brandon smiled at her awkwardly. "Uhh…hi Sarah."

Sarah gave him a toothy smile before turning toward Kelly, who happened to be her older sister. "Kelly? Can you take Jaimie and Melanie home with you? I have track practice and I don't want them to wait for me."

Kelly shrugged and smirked over at the two girls. "Whatever, hurry up guys."

Melanie and Jaimie ran over before offering a small wave as good bye to Sarah who took off running down the hallway in the direction of the gym.

Brandon grinned and waved at the two in innocent greeting. "Hi guys." He rested his fists on his hips and cocked an eyebrow. "Sarah muscled you guys into coming didn't she?"

"Of course she did." Melanie shook her head and smirked. "You really can't say no to Sarah, can you?"

Melanie was a girl of average height with very blond hair cut at the same length as Brandon's although it hung to the side as opposed to Brandon's much straighter locks. Her eyes were blue behind her oval glasses and she wore a dark green, long sleeved, shirt under a black vest with pants of a matching color. She stood with her weight shifted on one foot, a very cool standing position for a very cool kid.

Jaimie was of similar height with long dark brown hair and brown eyes behind square glasses. She wore an orange plaid blouse with jeans and white sneakers. She stood cross armed, and smiled before striding forward to follow them out.

* * *

"No no no no NO NO NO SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIAAAAAAAH!" Brandon screamed and threw his controller down. "Maaan! Jaimie! How'd you get so good at this!"

Jaimie laughed and claimed her victory on Sonic Adventure 2. "I've played it a million times! Huhuhu…"

"Move over." Melanie poked Brandon and he bounded up onto the couch with Kelly who sat quietly observing their game.

Jaimie shot into action, her fingers moved expertly over the buttons with practiced experience, while Melanie coolly held her head, trying to keep Shadow up with Sonic.

"Hey hey hey Kelly!" Brandon chirped. She didn't respond, provoking a cocked eyebrow. "Keeelly." There was further silence as Kelly stared off into space. Brandon pouted and cupped his hands around his mouth yelling directly into her ear. "KEEEEEEEEEELLLLLYYY!"

The girl jumped a little and glared over at him, rubbing her head in irritation. "What is it?"

Brandon fell back on the couch laughing. "What's with that? You space out all the time! Hehe!"

"Is there a problem with that?" Kelly raised her eyebrow at him and crossed her legs, leaning against the couch.

"Nah." Brandon shrugged. "What were you thinking about?"

There was a small pause, but she recovered quickly, just laughing a little. "Oh, nothing…Nothing important, just lost in my imagination I guess."

"Huhuhu…" Jaimie turned back to face them after thoroughly kicking Melanie's ass with Sonic, for which Melanie was lying on the floor groaning. "You sitting in there with your imaginary friends Kelly?"

The girl in black rolled her eyes and smiled in an almost dreamy fashion. "I told you Jaimie, I deny them in public, hehe…"

Jaimie turned back the game in an effort to rematch Melanie, only to be interrupted by Sarah throwing the door open. She seemed tired after a long track practice, but still greeted with a cheery, "Hi guys!".

"Hey Sarah." Melanie greeted with her eyes still focused on Sonic.

"Lookin' strong Sarah." Kelly snickered.

"Of course I look strong!" Said girl struck a pose, making muscles. "I am strong."

"That's true." Jaimie added. "You moved the whole treadmill in the basement, all by yourself, when all three of us couldn't even budge it."

Sarah beamed with pride before shooting over to the couch and flinging down next to Kelly.

"So what was it you were day dreaming about?" Brandon asked his best friend, poking his nose back into her business as he often did.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Nothing at all."

"Oooooh?" Sarah gasped dramatically and leaned against Kelly in a somewhat uncomfortable way. "What were you day dreaming about this tiiiime?" She giggled girlishly and batted her eyes. "Was it a booooooy?"

"No." Kelly spat, very seriously in a very irritated voice.

Sarah giggled nonstop and nudged Kelly playfully.

* * *

Brandon noticed that it was starting to get a little bit dark. Sarah had dragged Melanie and Jaimie off to trek around in the backwoods, while Kelly had been too lazy to get off the couch. Brandon decided he'd rather spend the rest of the afternoon playing Naruto with her.

"Ha ha! Yes!" Brandon punched a fist into the air and grinned a mile wide. "Two outta three! I win!" Naruto made the same motion on the screen with a "Dattebayo!" followed in response, Brandon found it a bit hard to resist making the same sound.

"Heh heh." Kelly chuckled, not at all bothered at loosing. She sighed and leaned back on the couch, lost in thought again.

This time Brandon looked over at her. Her eyes were open and she was staring off at the window, but not really looking at it. Her eyes were glazed over and her body slack. Brandon found it almost fascinating, how she just stared off like that. He wondered what she was thinking of still, since she had never told him. He spent a few minutes kicking his legs and humming impatient tunes before he could stand it no longer and he poked Kelly on the shoulder. She didn't move. Brandon snickered and poked her again and again and again and again until she finally snapped into consciousness and batted his hands away.

"Hehehe!" Brandon laughed and stuck his tongue out of his teeth. "You did it again!"

"Oh, man sorry." Kelly replied halfheartedly.

"I wish I was in your imagination, with all of those characters of yours." Brandon said. "I bet it's tons of fun."

Kelly didn't respond.

"Sooo…" Brandon trailed off, the turned back to her for the third time. "What were you thinking about?"

Kelly turned her head real slowly to glare at him sarcastically. "Do you really want to know?"

Brandon nodded so vigorously he thought his head would roll of his shoulders.

The girl couldn't help, but smile at his interest. "Okay. Jeez." She crossed her legs and tucked her hands behind her head. "I was just imagining a dream world."

"Ooh?" Brandon stared at her intently.

She scratched her neck nervously. "I don't usually…tell people this stuff…" Her voice dropped down a little. "…and when I do I usually end up regretting it…"

"C'mon!" Brandon laughed. "I'm your best friend, right!"

"Yeah…" Kelly muttered. "Ooookay. I was dreaming of a world that's like a game and we're all players. We have all of these weapons and abilities…and we all take different paths, but at the end we're all back together again to fight the final boss." She looked off into the distant. "I told you it was weird."

Brandon laughed. "What do you mean weird! That would be awesome!" He flopped down on the couch lazily. "Imagine if something like that were to actually happen! That would be the coolest thing, EVER!"

"Yeah…" Kelly sighed and stared back out into the window. "I would be even better if Kayla were to join us…"

Brandon sighed, he couldn't help a pang of sadness at the mention of their other best friend. Kayla, Brandon and Kelly had once been an unbeatable, inseparable trio, until Kayla had moved states away. Of course they still kept in close contact with her, but…it wasn't the same.

"Oh!" Kelly snapped back up and reached down into her bag, protruding a black sketchbook. "Did you see my new drawing?" She asked, effectively changing the conversation.

"Ooh! No!" Brandon scooted over, leaning so deep into the paper, Kelly had to push his head back up to turn the page. "Here." She pointed to a drawing of a man with wide, insane eyes and a mess of some sort of afro-dreadlock hairdo colored in bright red. He wore a short-sleeved orange and blue striped shirt with dark jeans and socks to match the shirt. Although the most noticeable thing about him was a long, forest green scarf that slung around his neck so both tendrils fell at his back, both long enough to nearly touch the ground. He was in a silly break dancing position, although it was drawn well enough to make him look absolutely cool.

Brandon ooh'd and aah'd more times then appropriate before getting back to the game. "Nice job Kelly." He complimented. "Michael's a pretty cool character."

"Yeah." Kelly nodded. "He's my favorite. I think he's awesome, even if he is a little crazy."

Brandon shrugged. "You like crazy anyway don't you?"

"Hehe…" Kelly snickered. "I guess…"

Brandon noticed even as the two of them returned their attention to their Naruto game, Kelly began to space out again, sometimes costing her a move or two. The boy watched her and wondered what exactly might be going on in there that had so much of her attention. He couldn't suppress a silent wish for Kelly's dream world to come true.

Of course, Brandon wasn't stupid. Such things were just impossible weren't they?


	2. Chapter 2

It was six o'clock when Brandon shot out of bed. He paused for a moment to yawn and rub his eyes, then woke up near instantly and slipped onto the hard wood floor. Brandon was an early waker. The boy could run a full day on nothing more than six hours and he loved doing just that. The boy took a look at his calendar to find it was Saturday. He nearly leapt for joy, but decided to keep all noise to a minimum as his parents and his two younger sisters were both still asleep.

Without thought to getting dressed, Brandon slipped out of his room and nearly fell down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen. He dug through the cupboard until the boy found a cereal he deemed worthy and poured four servings worth into the largest bowl he could find. As he ate, Brandon pulled out his Mom's laptop and clicked over to the site where Kelly posted her art. Sure enough there was the new picture of Michael she had shown him a few days earlier. Brandon scanned around her page, looking over her older art and some of her newer art for amusement, as he didn't want to turn on the TV and wake his parents up.

He took notice of an old MSN message from Kayla. She must have sent it to him the day earlier. He frowned as she didn't seem to be online anymore. Oh well…might as well see what she'd sent.

Brandon smiled at her short messages, asking if he were there and that she missed him, followed by death threats for not getting on the computer faster. He was glad that Kayla still thought about him and Kelly even though she was far away with a bunch of new friends. Brandon chewed away at his cereal, becoming lost in thought for a moment.

Kayla had always been the popular kind of kid. It wasn't just that she was stunningly beautiful with a very lady-like figure and perfectly tanned skin. Kayla had always been tough and strong, the one to make the decisions and never take no for an answer. Brandon laughed a little as he remembered her temper. Kayla's temper…whoo…that was a scary thing to think about. The girl was ruthless and nasty when she was angry, quickly resorting to screaming and physical confrontation and she was short tempered to boot. But even though Kayla had been pissed at Brandon almost twenty-four-seven when they were friends, she was equally as protective, confronting Brandon's bullies and sticking her neck out for him on more than one occasion. Brandon was really grateful for Kelly, at the beginning Kayla and him had hated each other with a passion…well…it was more like Kayla hated him and Brandon just loved pushing her buttons, but Kelly had convinced the two of them to set their differences aside so the three could foster a new friendship.

Kelly had been so timid back then. She was shy and withdrawn and never said anything without a stutter. Fortunately, with the combined efforts of himself and Kayla, they had brought her into reality, where she was cooler headed and more confident. Although recently she was very spacey.

Brandon took a quick bite of his cereal and leaned over the computer to write a response to Kayla. Which sort of ended up with him just writing the most random words his crazy mind could conjure and then clicking off, grinning satisfactorily.

* * *

"Helloooo?" Came the high, drawled out voice of Sarah over the phone, Brandon groaned.

"Hi Sarah, is Kelly there?" He responded, as monotonously as possible.

"Brandon!" Sarah cried with glee. "How are you?"

Brandon sighed. "I'm fine. Now can I please speak with Kelly?"

"Sorry!" Sarah sing-songed. "Kelly's still asleep!" If he could see her, Brandon would be certain that she was smiling evilly by now. "I coooould…wake her up for you! Ehehehee!"

Brandon waved his arms around for effect even though the only person who could see them was his little sister Ashley, who just laughed at him. "No no! That's okay, just tell her I called when she wakes up okay?"

"Aww…That's no fun…but okay!" "Bye Sarah."

"Hehehe…Byyyyye Brandon."

Brandon shut his phone off as quickly as his fingers could move. He sighed in relief the moment Sarah's stalkeresque breathing disappeared from his ears. He just knew she was doing it on purpose. That girl was such a lovely-dovey creep. She freaked him out all the time. Brandon wondered how Kelly managed to live along side her all the time.

Speaking of Kelly, the boy was a bit surprised to find her asleep at 2:00 p.m. The girl didn't normally sleep that much or for that long.

Brandon didn't dwell on it, instead he bounded back up to his room to entertain himself with Halo Reach for a couple hours.

* * *

Brandon wondered if she was sick. Kelly hadn't been to school that day and normally she told him if she was planning on missing. The girl was kind of frail, she was anemic and suffered dizzy spells, but she never let that stop her. Normally if she missed she was pretty out of it.

Brandon tossed his things into his backpack quickly and slammed his locker closed to dodge people and run up the stairs. He and Kelly were Sophomores, Kayla had been too, so their lockers were located on the first floor. Jaimie and Melanie were Freshman and Sarah was an 8th grader so their lockers were on to top floor, luckily they were close enough for Brandon to make it in time to catch them.

"Hey guys!" He called, prompting Jaimie, Sarah and Melanie to spin around and stop abruptly. Brandon hadn't foreseen this so he accidentally slammed into Jaimie who reeled back and stuck out her arms for balance. Brandon, unfortunately, was not as graceful. He came tumbling into the ground.

Melanie looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Nice going chicken legs." She joked and stuck out a hand to help him up. The boy grabbed it quickly and yanked himself to his feet.

"Augh…Fuck Brandon, what was that all about?" Jaimie groaned and readjusted her backpack around her shoulders.

"Ahaha! Sorry." Brandon apologized and rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "I wanted to ask if you guys knew where Kelly was, she missed school today."

Jaimie and Melanie shook their heads and looked over to Sarah who shrugged. "Kelly's sick, she couldn't even get out of bed this morning."

Brandon looked worried. "Oh man…is she okay?"

Sarah shrugged again. "I think so. She'll probably be back tomorrow."

"I'll draw her something to cheer her up." Jaimie declared.

"No you won't." Melanie leaned over and crossed her arms with an all-knowing smirk on her face. "You always get distracted when you say that and never end up doing it."

Jaimie looked flustered. "What? Uhh…yeah, I'm a lazy shit aren't I?"

"Oh, but you're our lazy shit Jaimie!" Brandon joked and slung an arm around her shoulder.

"Thanks…" Jaimie muttered as the group picked up their pace, not wanting to miss their buses.

* * *

Brandon rushed to pick up the phone as it rang off the hook. His calls of "I GOT IT!" Rang through the house. He picked up the receiver and said as politely as he could, "Hello?".

"Oh, Brandon."

Brandon paused, it was Kelly's mom. "Oh, Hello Ms." He said quickly. "Do you want to talk to my Mom?"

"Oh, yes Brandon, but I would like to ask you a question first." She said, Brandon could tell she was distressed as Kelly's Mom was very open with her emotions.

"Um…Sure." Brandon swallowed, he could feel a lump growing in his throat. Something was wrong.

"You haven't happened to have heard from Kelly recently have you?" She asked, it was obvious in her voice that she was trying to sound calm.

"I…" Brandon stuttered. "I…No I haven't."

"That's alright." Kelly's Mom assured. "Could I speak with your Mom now?"

"Okay." Brandon said and called for his mother to pick up the phone. When he heard her voice on the other end he hung up and just stood there, staring at the ground.

Kelly was missing? How could that be? Kelly didn't go anywhere and she didn't have any friends who would be willing to take her somewhere or who even knew how to drive. Kelly was always careful to tell her parent's if she was going out. She would call them every time she went to his house if she hadn't already warned them in advance. Why would she just disappear?

Brandon rubbed his head and grabbed his Mom's laptop, checking to see if she was on. She wasn't and that scared him a little. Kelly was pretty much on the computer all the time.

The boy had to tell himself not to worry, that Kelly had probably just forgotten, she did that all the time. Yeah…she was okay. No problem.

Brandon couldn't help the knot in his stomach that told him otherwise.

* * *

A voice whispers sweetly into an empty abyss, the sound is lost to the darkness which hangs heavy as if a mist. "Oh my sweet Alice, you've become lost in Wonderland have you? Tut tut, I wouldn't take wonder in such shady desires if I were you…but you won't listen to me will you?"

There are footsteps that click and clack against a stone floor, one that cannot be seen. Swirling, dancing figures in the darkness recoil as the sound draws nearer, then stops altogether. A sigh drifts into the silence.

"This was a mistake…Something has to be done soon or it'll be too late." There is a pause. "Hmm…I don't have enough power over this place to do this on my own. As positively degrading as it is to admit…I'm going to need some help…"

Something sharp taps against a surface idly, the owner of such a weapon lost in thought at a decision they needed to make before time had run out.

"…but who could be trusted with such an important task?"

A jagged grin as long and wide as a human face could stretch appears out of the darkness. The disgustingly yellow crescent glows in the dim light.

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that sooner? Heeheeheeheehee…."


	3. Chapter 3

It was warm, as if the sun were shining on his back, when Brandon awoke. He ignored it at first, until his senses came back to him. He sat up, scratching his head, and looked around. It took him a few moments to register the greens and the brown around him.

He blinked a few times and his eyes scanned the greenery around him, but didn't register it until a few moments had passed.

"…nuaagh!" He cried and scrambled to his feet.

He was in a forest, surrounded by magnificent trees and plants of a type he'd never seen before. Next to him stood a shrub with wide leaves and a purple flower that looked similar to a lily. Little rays of sunshine shone through the thick tree leaves, one dropped onto his leg, lighting up the blue fabric. The grass underneath him was soft and long.

Brandon scratched his head, turning in a circle to see everything around him. "…where the heck am I?" He asked, not expecting an answer of course. The boy paused, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. It didn't feel like a hostile situation, it wasn't like he'd woken up in a dark room or handcuffed, but it was pretty strange… Maybe he was on a TV show or something? …That didn't make sense either.

A sudden wind shook the trees and rushed down onto him, Brandon raised his arm to cover his eyes. Some sort of weight lifted behind him and the boy looked back to see he was wearing a cape.

"Oh cool! A cape!" He laughed and spun around in the wind, letting it carry the fluttering fabric. The boy struck a pose, letting the gust rush against him. He probably looked so cool right now.

As the wind began to subside Brandon looked down at his clothing. It certainly wasn't the pajamas he'd gone to bed with last night. He wore a shirt which buttoned down in the front in a jagged pattern. It was split in black and white while his cargo pants were a dark blue. The cape was a lighter blue with a collar that stood up at his neck. Admittedly he felt like a wizard with it on. Which was cool. He also wore some sort of chain mesh under the shirt which could be seen at his shoulders as the shirt was sleeveless.

There was some object with a noticeable weight in the pockets to his cargo pants. He reached down and, unsnapping them, unsheathed what appeared to be two crossbows, loaded and ready to fire. "H-Holy…!" Brandon stammered and nearly dropped them on the floor. What the heck were things like that doing in his pockets!

Curiously, Brandon took a closer look at the weaponry. The crossbows seemed simple enough to fire, just pull the trigger. Reloading didn't seem too difficult either. The bowstring was taut and strong, and the wood seemed of quality as well. If Brandon were going to fight something or another, it would be a good weapon to have on hand, short of a gun.

The boy twisted his mouth at the weapon, but decided to keep it in his pockets for safe keeping. Of course he had no intent to fight anyone, so the act seemed unnecessary.

…although, perhaps it would be good protection, seeing as he had no idea where he was.

* * *

After a short while of stumbling through the forest, Brandon found himself a nice road to follow. With luck it would lead to a town of some sort, where he could at least get his bearing as to where he was.

Fortunately his walk wasn't as long as it could have been as a carriage rode up behind him. It was designed as if to be horse drawn, but the creatures pulling were not exactly horses. They stood in a bear shape, but much larger and thinner. One was colored in a light brown and the other in a reddish tint. Both had long fur, pointed ears and a face similar to a boar.

The carriage stopped a short ways in front of him and the driver called back to Brandon.

"Young man! Do you need a ride?"

Brandon hesitated, as he had been taught to by his parents, but there didn't seem to be much other of an option and he wanted to be polite as well. He ran up to the side of the carriage and looked up at the driver. He was a man in his late forties with a rough brown beard. He wore a straw hat and suspenders in a brown color with a faded red shirt underneath. He was large and strong from years of hard work and had rough looking hands. His appearance may have been brazen, but his smile was warm and he had kind, blue eyes.

"Hello young man. Would you like a ride into town?" He asked politely, patting the spot on the wooden seat next to him. "It's not a long ride."

"Oh wow! Thanks a lot mister!" Brandon grinned up at him and started to climb up the wheel spokes. "…but I can't just go hitch a ride without paying. I don't have any money."

The man laughed as Brandon dropped onto the seat beside him. "Well then how about you help me with a little work once we get to town?"

"Oh of course!" The boy replied. "Thank you very much for helping me mister."

"It's no trouble at all!" He chuckled and spurred the beasts back into motion. "And call me Arthael."

"Okay, Mr. Arthael. Call me Brandon."

* * *

As Arthael had told, the ride was fairly short, hardly an hour. The scenery was largely unchanged, but still beautiful for Brandon. He'd never seen such a thick and well grown forest with such beautiful plants before.

Arthael was fond of laughing. He had a deep booming voice with a contagious laugh and jolly attitude. Brandon found it very refreshing and spent his time eagerly listening to the stories the man had to tell of his childhood. Growing up in this place seemed like it would have been a lot of fun, Brandon was admittedly jealous. From what he'd heard this area lacked any modern devices Brandon was used to, he could only assume most of the areas around here were the same.

The boy could hardly wrap his brain around the situation. It didn't feel like he was even on…earth anymore. Which he knew was stupid, but it almost made the most sense. To be honest, the idea was too much for him to take in, so he just took it as it was; he was in a new place with new people and he should check the area out for a while.

As the carriage turned into the village, Brandon took in the sights with wonder. Every building was built from stone and straw as if from an ancient time. The people worse clothing of a slightly more modern design, generally more simple than the clothes he was used to seeing on people, usually in solid colors, with an occasional fancy hat on a woman. They passed one or two people who carried a weapon of some sort, like a sword or a bow and arrow, not a gun in sight. Brandon found it to actually be a bit calming.

"Here's our stop." Arthael declared as the beasts came to a halt at the side of a particularly large building, which appeared to be a tavern. The man turned toward Brandon and motioned to the boxes behind him. "I need to harness Sax and Jahn for the night. Would you carry those top three boxes into the tavern? I'm friends with the owner, just tell him you're with me and he'll show you what to do with them."

"Okay!" Brandon saluted and hopped in an uncharacteristically nimble fashion onto the ground. As Arthael led the beasts over to a stable a little further away from the tavern, Brandon hoisted one of the fairly heavy boxes into his arms. He stumbled toward the door where some kind person held the door open for him.

He stood, awkwardly, in the middle of the tavern, shakily holding the delivery. "Uhh… excuse me? I have some packages for the owner."

"That would be me." A man called from over behind the bar, Brandon could see him from the corner of his eye. He was thin and tall, at least thirty with a long blond beard and messy hair.

"Um I-I'm with Mr. Arthael!" Brandon called. "Can I please put this down?"

"Oh you're with Arthael?" The man stood from his seat and came over. "Here, I'll show you where to put it." The man took half of the weight into his own hands and led Brandon downstairs into a cellar where the box was placed in a corner.

As the two of them made their way back up the stairs the man offered Brandon his hand which the boy shook cheerfully. "I go by the name of Chaston. What's yours boy?"

"Oh I'm Brandon; it's nice to meet your Mr. Chaston." Brandon smiled and ran up the stairs and back to the crates.

For the next few minutes Brandon and Chaston carried the three crates into the cellar, until finally they returned with none left to carry. Arthael met them at the cart where he and Chaston exchanged friendly remarks and laughed. As they headed inside to presumably catch up, Arthael beckoned Brandon in after him.

Arthael and Brandon sat at the bar while Chaston stepped behind a door, presumably to get them something to eat.

"It's on the house." Arthael laughed and patted Brandon on the shoulder as he took a sip of his drink. It was some sort of fruit, although to what kind, he wasn't sure. "Chaston always treats me to a free meal during my stay in this town. You see, he and I grew up together, right here."

"Oh really?" Brandon blinked a few times as he slurped away at the ice cold liquid.

"Yes, so don't worry about the food. He'll take care of us for a little while."

"Here you go." Chaston called as he dropped plates of some sort of meat and rice in front of them. "It's the best in town, give it a try."

"Thanks!" Brandon cried and dug into his food like an animal. Although his appetite on average was fairly large, he was hungrier than usual, after all that walking and laying in the forest.

"Oh wow, this is delicious! Thanks a lot for this Mr. Chaston!"

Chaston laughed. "It's a pleasure." He took a seat at the other end of the counter and began to clean an empty glass. "So Brandon, where are you heading?"

"…hm." Brandon took a moment to swallow. "…actually I don't really have an idea. I guess I'm probably trying to get home, but I have no idea where I am."

Arthael raised his eyebrow. "You must be pretty lost then."

"Yeah, I am!"

Chaston stood from his seat and left the counter. After a few moments of nothing but the sound of Brandon chewing he returned with a large piece of paper. Spreading it out over the counter, he beckoned the two over.

Brandon looked over the intricately drawn lines and features for a few moments before realizing it was a map.

"Your town must be nearby; maybe you can find it on here." Arthael suggested and took a sip of his ale.

"Oh! Great! Thank you!" Brandon stood on his chair and, placing his hands on either side of the map, pressed his face hardly a few inches from the paper, scanning the contents profusely.

…nothing looked familiar at all.

Brandon looked up with a hopeless look on his face. "Aw… I don't even see my town area on here…"

"Here." Chaston flipped the paper over, revealing a map on a much larger scale. "Here's a map of our continent. Look for anything familiar and let's see if we can at least pinpoint where you should be headed."

"Got it!" Brandon nodded and resumed his earlier position, looking, if possible, more seriously into the paper. Chaston and Arthael watched him in amusement. They exchanged a quick glance; the boy certainly was an interesting one.

"…I don't recognize any of this…" Said the boy, after a long time of checking, rechecking and checking a third time.

"Well that certainly is a predicament." Arthael tapped his bearded chin.

Brandon plopped onto his seat and took a defeated sip from his drink. "…aw… How am I gonna get home then…?"

Arthael patted the boy's back and smiled at him. "Don't worry Brandon. I'm sure you'll find the answer soon. Why don't you stay here for a little while until you can figure things out?"

Brandon nodded his head. "Okay."

"I've got a spare room. If you help me out around the tavern you can stay for as long as you like." Chaston crossed his arms and smiled at the boy.

"And you could hang out with me for a while, maybe we'll stumble upon some clues if we travel around." Arthael added. "It's your choice, why don't you think about it over night? I won't be leaving until the morning."

Brandon grinned at both of them. "Wow. Thanks a lot. You guys are so much help!."

"Ahaha!" Arthael chuckled and pointed to Chaston. "Get this boy another plate, he's already clean!"

Chaston rolled his eyes. "Alright." He leaned over the counter to Arthael and muttered under his breath. "He keeps reminding me of you when you and I were young."

Arthael laughed in a booming voice. "So he does!"


	4. Chapter 4

A monstrous voice snarls, hardly human, and yet its words are almost recognizable as that of a human's. There is a sickening laugh, with a voice smooth and cold.

The monster roars and punches at the voice, it's blind in its rage and misses entirely, spinning around until it can clumsily regain its footing.

"Heeheeheehee!" The voice snickers from atop the monster's head. "Hahaha!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The monster screams and grabs at the voice, words of an almost human sound tumble from its inhuman lips. "GRAAIVE BRAAAK!" It screams in a blind fury.

"Tut tut tut!" The voice shushes, patting the monster on its gigantic forehead. "Now is not the time for such behavior Clovey! You've got a job to do!"

The monster snarled swinging its arms at its head, trying to capture its tormentor, but the man whom the voice of ice belonged to was fast, and it couldn't reach.

"Eheeheehee!" The crescent grin was back, spreading from cheek to cheek in the face of its owner. "Go forth now and show me your will!"

The first thump wasn't enough to rouse Brandon from his sleep. He was too deeply entangled in the warm sheets and feather pillows. He'd been offered the attic as a place to stay, there were two beds, one for him and the other for Arthael. Chaston was asleep downstairs in the rooms designed for housing, but would awaken very early in the morning to begin whatever general activities a tavern owner took care of during the day. Arthael would wake up a little later and rouse Brandon with him. This would be where the boy would make his decision; to stay or to leave with Arthael.

He'd been up all night thinking about it and he wasn't sure. Staying with Chaston was a pleasant idea. This town seemed charming and Brandon could easily have fun here, but traveling with Arthael might get him closer to home… Eventually he'd fallen asleep, undecided.

The second thump almost caught his attention. He shook his head a little, yawned and dug back under the covers. Arthael made some sort of noise from across the room, but Brandon was far too sleepy to comprehend any part of it.

The third thump woke him up a little. The boy blinked his eyes several times in the darkness. The morning sun was just slightly poking at the horizon, giving the dark blue sky a small ray of light. He didn't feel like now would be a good time to wake up. So he closed his eyes again.

THUMP.

Okay, perhaps it was a good time to wake up after all. Brandon sat upright, rubbing his eyes and yawning, until yet another thump caught his attention. He stood from his bed, slipping on his shoes and cape, to look cool. "What could possibly be making that much noise?" He muttered to himself and covered his mouth with his hands. He shifted his eyes to assure he hadn't awoken Arthael, but to his surprise, the man was not in his bed. Brandon shrugged his shoulders and started down the stairs.

He paused for a moment, looking back at the cross bows. Would he need them? After a moment's consideration he took them in his hands and shoved them in his pockets. Just in case.

It was eerily silent on the boy's way down the stairs. He tried to be as quiet as possible on his way down, but it almost seemed as if every step creaked under his weight. He made his way into the tavern. In the dim light he could see the well cleaned tables and floors, with the chairs stacked neatly on the table tops. Chaston really knew how to keep a place in order.

After a few seconds of admiring Chaston's handiwork, Brandon's attention was drawn to the sound of another thump, a bit louder than the others. The floor shook very slightly under his feet with the noise. The boy looked up at the front door.

Something was wrong.

He made his way to the heavy wooden door frame, it was closed tight for the night, but with a little effort, Brandon managed to push it open enough for his skinny frame to pass through.

In the few minutes Brandon had spent waking up and sneaking downstairs, the sun had risen across the horizon further, not enough to light up the sky, but enough to give the boy an outline of the town.

Everything was silent and everyone was asleep, so nothing seemed very out of the ordinary, until yet another thump nearly caused him to lose his balance. He regained it in a stance, with no intention of tripping over again.

Then a new sound drifted into his ears. It was some sort of low grumble. He couldn't make out exactly what it was. Perhaps an injured animal? Brandon decided he should investigate, although any amount of common sense would tell him otherwise.

The boy took a few steps in the direction of the forest with the intent of investigating the noises, but before he could make it past the tavern another thump caught him by surprise, the ground underneath him shook and then a sound of a crack, as if something were being snapped in half. There were further similar sounds and the thumps grew more frequent and more powerful. Brandon peered in the direction of the forest, squinting his eyes just to catch a glimpse of any form of movement. His wish was granted as the sounds of trees being broken and knocked over surrounded the village and something huge stepped free from the forest. With the dim lighting Brandon could see hardly anything, but its silhouette… but it wasn't human.

This thing was nearly three times the height of any normal human being; it had a body of a grotesque purple/black shade and horns like the devil sticking out from its forehead. It hunched over as a beast unable to hold its own weight would. It had massive arms and legs, strong enough to crush almost anything in its path and a mat of wild brown hair. There was not a pupil to be found in its rage filled eyes and within its strong jowls stood a set of flat, grinding teeth, as if stone. And yet the most surprising fact of this monster was that it wore a set of human clothing, a sleeveless shirt in white with pants in grey.

Brandon stood there dumbstruck. What the heck was this thing?

The monster stood at the opening of the woods breathing as if it were exhausted, until it caught sight of Brandon in its white eyes. Suddenly Brandon felt very alone and very afraid. He was the only one awake, alone in the street with this monster staring straight at him.

There was a moment of chilling silence as the two stared at each other from nearly two different ends of the town. Brandon stood in an awkward stance, his legs spread, as if he were preparing for an earthquake, his hands were poised midair, although he wasn't sure what he would do with them.

There was a grunt, and then a growl, until finally the monster reared its head back and roared, and then charged at Brandon, who could do nothing, but stand there, frozen.

The ground shook as the monster stampeded toward him, grunting and panting, its nose flaring as it charged, blindly toward its victim.

As the monster was nearly upon him, Brandon was sure he would have been trampled, had a strong hand not reached out toward him and pulled him out of the way. Brandon found himself scrambling to regain his balance and his nerves, while Arthael stood, watching the monster as it turned to face them once again. It opened and closed its fists, as if eager to squeeze the life out of someone, and for the moment, Brandon and Arthael were the only ones to squeeze.

"Get a hold of yourself Brandon!" Arthael yelled and stood his ground against the monster.

"What the heck is that thing?" Brandon cried regaining his footing and balling his fists. He wasn't going to stand there and let it attack him this time.

"I've never seen anything like this before." Came the more steady voice of Chaston as he emerged from the tavern, holding nothing more than a kitchen knife as a weapon. "It doesn't look like a typical beast for this area or any."

"It's wearing clothes!" Brandon pointed out as the monster began its charge back at them, grunting and roaring. With a nimbleness he didn't know he had, Brandon managed to evade the onslaught and found himself directly behind it. Something was different. He felt different.

"I get it now!" Arthael called over to the both of them, people could be seen, slowly peering out of their windows to see the commotion, but so far no one had come to provide aid, as, at the moment, there was not a single warrior in the small town. "This is a human! He's been changed!" Brandon looked back at Arthael to find him pointing at the monster's chest. "There! Do you see the glowing?"

When Brandon turned, sure enough, he could see a glowing, underneath the monster's clothing, around where he collar bone would be. He looked back at Arthael, in confusion. "Is that what's making him like this?"

"Yes!" The man called, fearing for the boy's safety as he was very close to the monster. "Deal damage to it and it should calm him down! Or kill it, whatever works."

"O-Okay! I've got this!" Brandon declared as the monster swung at him, with a brute force that would definitely kill him had he not been nimble enough to evade the attack. Taking a short moment to draw in a deep breath, Brandon reached into his pockets and pulled out the crossbows. He weighed them in his hands in what seconds he could spare and set his finger on the trigger. "…okay." The boy murmured to himself and looked up at the monster, which hovered over him, preparing to slam its fist down onto the boy.

With a leap, Brandon dodged the pounding and took the opportunity to aim at the monster's chest. He pulled the trigger to the weapon in his left hand, hoping it would hit its target.

It missed.

"…urg…" Brandon gritted his teeth and dropped the spent crossbow. One shot left, he had to get closer, he had to get right onto its chest.

Arthael and Chaston were getting the idea and took the opportunity to provide what assistance they could, calling out and waving their arms so that the monster's attention was drawn from the boy. Stupidly it turned to them, growling some kind of words, nothing that could be understood from the tone in which it spoke.

Brandon grinned and took the opportunity to leap onto the monster's back, although somewhat surprised with the height he'd achieved so easily, he shook off his pride and scrambled up onto its head and then crawled, or even more so, shimmied down its face. Brandon took a second to grin nervously at the monster, which just roared and reached forward to rip him off. Brandon dropped off of its face, latching a hand onto its shoulder, where he was face to face with the monster's chest, right in front of the mysterious glowing. In an attempt to grab Brandon, the monster slapped its own face, winding it for a moment, where Brandon took his opportunity. Aiming the crossbow directly at the glow, Brandon held his breath and took his shot.

The monster froze and although Brandon held onto its shoulder, eyes squeezed shut for a few moments, it did not grab at him. Brandon looked up at it as the monster began to sway back and forth before keeling over right onto its back, with Brandon sitting on top of it.

There was silence then. As if everyone were holding their breath.

The sun had risen above the horizon and now the sky held a red/orange hue to it, leaving a soft glow over everything. Brandon could see the monster he sat on clearly. Its eyes were shut and its mouth left agape. Brandon sat up, looking at Arthael and then at Chaston.

"…did I win?"

In that moment people began to cheer from their houses and Arthael struck a pose. Brandon looked dumbstruck for a few moments, until he began to smile. "Ehe…ehehehe…! Hehehehe! I did it!" He was grinning now.

Unfortunately, Brandon did not have long to celebrate as the monster's body began to shrink. Brandon just sat, unsteadily on top of it as it halved and then halved again in size. Its skin faded from purple into brown and its shaggy hair smoothed out into a slightly less wild shape and even its clothes shrunk to fit it once more.

Brandon found himself to be sitting directly on top of a boy, no older than himself.


	5. Chapter 5

"Is he dead…?" Brandon murmured as he got off of the boy, watching fearfully as Chaston pressed his ear against his no longer glowing chest. "I-I didn't mean to hurt him! I was just… I-I… please tell me he's okay…" Arthael patted Brandon's back to quiet him down. There was a heavy silence for a few seconds until Chaston straightened himself and smiled at Brandon.

"Don't worry, he's breathing, just a bit tired from all of that action, I suppose." At that moment the boy released a comically loud snore. Brandon sighed audibly with relief and pressed his arms behind his head, grinning.

"What should we do with him?" Arthael questioned, kneeling down beside the lightly snoring boy, raising an eyebrow as a tiny drop of drool trickled off the side of his mouth. "He's certainly caused a lot of trouble…"

Brandon knelt down beside Arthael, giving him a pleading smile. "Can we please keep him alive, Mr. Arthael? This must be a mistake. There's no way anyone would attack a town on purpose!"

Chaston remained skeptical, but Arthael quickly bent to Brandon's will. "Come now Chaston… He's just a boy. We have to at least give him a chance."

Chaston crossed his arms and frowned. "…fine, but he leaves as soon as he wakes up."

Brandon lept to his feet and threw his hands in the air. "Thanks Mr. Chaston!"

Arthael lifted the boy into his huge arms and carried him into the tavern, Brandon and Chaston following suit.

The boy wasn't all that much older than Brandon himself, hardly sixteen, although he had clearly been at work a lot longer than he had been. Brandon sat thinking to himself as he sat on the floor next to him.

Chaston had refused to let the boy sleep in any of his free beds, largely because a sudden wave of customers left none open, and to Chaston the customer was the most important thing. So there he lay, on the hard floor, with Brandon sitting right next to him. He thought it would have been unfair to sit in a chair while the poor boy had to lie on the floor, so he'd opted to sit next with him.

Brandon sat there, chewing on the breakfast Chaston had made for him. It was likely the most delicious plate of eggs he'd ever tasted. For a countryman Chaston had the skills of a fine culinary artist. Brandon took a sip of his new favorite fruit juice and went back to staring at the boy.

He had very tan skin, similar to the shade of a walnut, probably from spending a lot of time outside. His hair was a light brown, just a tad darker than Brandon's and stuck back in an almost impossible way, as if his hair had been windblown and then gelled to stay that way. His bangs were pulled back, and he had a prominent widow's peak. The boy wore a cape, similar to Brandon's, but a pure white with a collar that tied more similarly to a scarf. His shirt was a light grey and his pants even darker, perhaps a little closer to black than white. He wore armor on his forearms and lower legs, in a white color. "Jeez…" Brandon thought as he took his final bite of egg. "This guy's really into the color white."

The boy snoozed more quietly than he had been earlier. His eyes were shut peacefully as he dozed. Brandon raised an eyebrow; the guy was really sawing logs. When was the last time he'd taken a nap?

His blue eyes wandered down to the boy's chest. The mysterious glowing had ceased entirely and he almost looked as if the incident from earlier simply hadn't happened. To be honest, Brandon had been really worried there. He'd shot an arrow point blank into his collar bone. Basically his neck and yet he was completely unscathed. It was almost as if he'd absorbed the blow.

Shrugging, Brandon stood up to stretch his back and carry his plate into the back room to wash it. Chaston had offered to clean it himself, but Brandon wasn't about to let that happen. He'd even offered to clean the rest of the dirty dishes as a "thank you" for both, letting him stay and letting the boy take a nap, albeit on the floor.

Brandon pushed back his cape, he wasn't about to take that off for anything. It just made him seem so cool no matter what he was doing, take washing dishes for example. So Brandon dug eagerly into the dishes, washing them as expertly as he could. Back home he'd had a job washing dishes for a pizza place, so he was more than ready for this task.

Minutes passed as Brandon worked his way through the pile, he hummed a tune for a little while. Actually, he needed to hurry up and make a decision. Arthael would need to leave soon, but Brandon wasn't about to leave that boy asleep in the hands of Chaston. He'd decided that leaving was a good idea… but now he was a little stuck.

The boy sighed, his washing becoming a bit more solemn, until Arthael poked his head in. "Brandon, I'm going to have to leave soon. I have other towns to make deliveries to." He stepped in a little further. "Are you going to join me?"

"Mhmm… Yeah I guess so." Brandon sighed and placed his current dish out to dry, wiping his hands on a rag on his way out.

As Arthael and Chaston exchanged hearty laughs and "good byes" Brandon kept his eye on the boy, sort of hoping he'd wake up first. He'd actually been excited to meet this boy for some reason.

Almost as if his thoughts had been answered the boy stirred, yawning once before blinking his eyes open. Brandon's smile widened as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"…agh…" The boy groaned, with a somewhat disappointed look on his face. It didn't last longer than a few seconds before he whipped his head around, with an utterly confused look replacing it.

"Hey there!" Brandon called, running over, stopping hardly a foot away from him and almost tripping and toppling over. "You're awake!"

The boy shot to his feet where he stood in a battle-ready pose, feet planted firmly on the ground and hands balled into fists. "I demand to know where you've taken me!"

"Whoa, what?" Brandon shrunk away from his fighting stance, taking a step or two back and holding up his hands. "I-I didn't do anything like that!"

"Then explain to me how I've ended up in this place!" The boy demanded, stepping threateningly closer. "I've got a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"Boys, boys." Arthael cut in between the two, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. "Calm down, no one's kidnapped anyone." He looked at the boy with a gentle expression. "We haven't done anything to you."

The boy crossed his arms and made an expression near to a pout. "Oh yeah? And how am I supposed to believe that?"

"You were changed." Arthael pointed to the boy's chest. "Something inside of you turned you into a monster and you stormed on our village." He then pointed to Brandon. "This boy had enough courage to face you and knocked you down just in time to save the rest of us."

The boy's expression softened from irritation to a slight guilt. "…oh. I see." He shrugged and crossed his arms once again. "Ahem… I apologize, for my failure to control er… myself."

Brandon made a confused expression, but Arthael patted him on the shoulder. "That's good to hear. Seeing as you hadn't caused as much damage as you could have, you won't be getting into much trouble either."

"Oh, great." The boy almost looked surprised, but smiled triumphantly, placing his hands on his hips.

Arthael gestured at Brandon and stepped to the side, standing back with Chaston and chaperoning this introduction silently.

Brandon stuck out his hand and grinned at the boy. "My name is Brandon! It's nice to meet you."

Shaking Brandon's hand politely, the boy stood back and whipped out a sword, from what Brandon presumed was midair. He draped it behind his shoulders and stuck his free hand on his hip, striking a pose that Brandon had to admit… was pretty cool.

"My name is Sir Clovisten Adelhard, Knight of the Order of The Guardians of Fortune." He declared with pride.

"…um…woah." Brandon stood there dumbfounded. "W-Wait. Could you repeat that?"

Clovisten sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. "Okay, just call me Clovisten. Sir Clovisten."

"Clovisten…" Brandon tapped his chin. "How about I call you Clover? That seems a lot more fun!"

Clovisten flinched as if the words had struck him in the face. "What? No! Why does everyone always want to call me that!" He stood in front of Brandon and pointed a desperate finger at his chest. "N-No! Don't call me that!"

"Ehehehe…" Brandon grinned somewhat devilishly. "Okay then." He crossed his arms and leaned a little closer. "…Clover."

"Aaaugh!" Clover rubbed his forehead and whined. "I hate that! Clover is not a name fitting of a Knight of The Order of The Guardians of Fortune!"

"Ahahaha!" Brandon snickered and held his stomach to keep from doubling over with laughter. "Your title is so long!"

"Well at least I have one!" Clover pouted, returning the sword to the magical space in which he had conjured it.

Arthael leaned toward Chasten to whisper, "They're certainly getting along aren't they?"

"Sure, but what are you going to do? Are you going to leave?"

"Hmm…" Arthael mused for a moment.

"Look… Okay." Clover took a breath and bowed down low to Brandon. "I am in your debt for returning me to myself. I am obligated to offer my services to you, but…" He straightened himself, and looked off to the side, in a way that almost made him look ashamed. "…I have something important I need to be looking for."

"What are you looking for?" Brandon asked, curiously.

"It's er… confidential." Clover scratched at his neck. Clearly he wasn't comfortable speaking about it.

"Well, uh…" Brandon rubbed his chin for a moment, before he eyes lit up and he turned toward the boy. "Hey! What if I helped you look for it?"

Clover actually looked surprised. "Really?"

"Sure!' Brandon grinned. "Actually, I'm looking for a place myself and I figure if I hang out with you, I might at least find some clues more quickly."

"Hm… Sure, why not?" Clover shrugged.

"Mr. Arthael, is that okay?" Brandon turned toward the man, a pleading look in his eyes.

Arthael nodded enthusiastically. "Of course. I was hoping for something like this to happen. Perhaps this way, it will be more of a journey for you."

"Yes!" Brandon pumped a fist into the air. "A journey! That would be awesome!"

"Gonna miss him?" Chaston murmured to his friend.

"Sure, but I'll be alright." Arthael smiled. "I've only known the kid a day or two. I hope one day, if I get lucky in life…" He chuckled. "…to have a son just like him."

Brandon stuck out his hand again and this time Clover shook it without hesitance.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where are we going, Clover?" Brandon asked, looking over at the boy as he led them confidently into the forest, surrounding the small village. Clover walked with a strict pride about him, as if every step were one closer to victory. Although whatever that victory might be was questionable.

Clover looked over at him and pointed into the direction of the forest they were about to enter. "We're going into the Forest of Demise!"

"Umm… That sounds a little dangerous." Brandon raised his eyebrow, with a little skepticism. The Forest of Demise didn't sound like it were the most forgiving place. Not to mention there was a road out of town in the opposite direction. As far as he could see the only roads located in the forest were small and easily missed.

Clover grinned at Brandon with unwavering confidence. "Perhaps, but it's nothing I can't handle, especially with you at my side!"

Brandon couldn't help feeling a little flustered at the compliment.

"Besides." Clover mused. "I came from the direction of this forest, correct?" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he walked, as if thinking very seriously. "It's the best lead I have to complete my mission." In a moment he opened his eyes and grinned with conviction. "We've got to get a move on if we're going to make any progress!" He marched forward in a more fervent pace.

"Ah, wait for me!" Brandon called, running to catch up. With a new boost in his confidence, he felt ready to take on any challenge.

The beginning of the road was fairly well defined and Clover did well not to stray from it. Unfortunately, due to the lack of use, the road began to fade away the further they delved into the shady forest. Even as the path had disappeared completely, Clover still marched on.

"Um, are we lost?" Brandon asked, looked at his companion with concern.

"Of course not! I know exactly where we're going." Clover declared, although his confident stride had withered into a casual walk.

"O-Okay." Brandon shrugged, he trusted Clover enough not to prod him any further. After a few more minutes of silence, with Clover striding determinedly and Brandon trailing more idly, the younger decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey Clover."

The boy sighed. "I would really prefer you call me Clovisten. Sir Clovisten." He looked back at Brandon thoughtfully. "But what's up?"

"How did you become a big demon like that?" He asked with innocent curiosity. "It was so cool and really tough! It's a miracle you didn't flatten me when we were fighting!"

Clover laughed and pointed to his chest. "Certain Fortune Guardians are given special seals to keep in their company, to assure that the power is never released. If they were to get loose… well, you see what happens." He scratched at the fabric idly. "It grants us with heightened strength and agility, but can be very dangerous if we don't control our urges."

"What do you mean?" Brandon asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Many of them are tied to emotions." Clover explained, pointing his finger in the air, matter-of-factly. "Usually powerful ones like sadness, extreme emotional distress, rage and fear. Mine is tied to extreme rage." He looked down at his chest for a moment before looking back up at the trees before them. "If I become extremely angry, I lose control and the seal overtakes my body. You've seen what happens afterward." He laughed a bit. "Usually I'm in way better control than that! Which is why it's so surprising it happened."

Brandon listened intently to the story. "What could have made you so mad?"

Clover paused, for hardly a moment, before he shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Hmm…" Brandon hummed before grinning back at his friend. "Where could I get one like that?"  
"Hah!" Clover scoffed and shoved his fists onto his hips. "Only official Fortune Knights are given the honor of a warrior's seal, and even then, only a few actually get to have them!" Grinning, he went on. "Mine is particularly powerful!"

"Wow." Brandon stared at his friend with wonder. "You're lucky!"

"It has nothing to do with luck." Clover declared. "I am skilled!"

"Hehehe, okay." Brandon shrugged.

Neither of the two boys paid any attention to the fact that they were miserably lost. Clover was much too busy explaining the rules and etiquette that knights must strictly abide by. How one must conduct himself in the presence of a lady, how one must honor his title and "not be called silly names like 'Clover'" and how one must always be on his guard for danger. Brandon, on the other hand, was much too busy listening intently to these pointers. At least he had been, until Clover had taken one unfortunate step.

In moments, the older boy had found himself dangling from midair, quite highly restrained by a cross woven net, hung by a tree branch. His sword lay limply on the ground underneath him, as when startled Clover summoned it at perhaps the worst moment possible.

"What the heck?" Clover cried sticking his hands through the holes in the net and balling fists. Brandon just stood there, staring, dumbfounded, up at him. He'd risen a fairly high distance, as the tree was more than modest in height, at least more so than most trees Brandon had been used to back at his home. "Who did this! Let me out of here!"

After a few more moments of staring dumbly, Brandon burst into laughter, falling to his knees and holding his stomach to keep from throwing up. "Aren't knights supposed to stay VIGILANT!"

Clover blushed and ground his teeth together. "Brandon, stop laughing and get me out of here!" He stretched his leg out against the rope, trying in vain to break it. "I want to find the idiot responsible for this!"

Brandon, now lying on the dirt, wheezed for a few moments, desperately trying to regain his breath, until finally a time came where he could look at Clover without laughing. "O-Okay! What do you want me to do?" The boy asked, a repressed snicker clearly present.

"Throw me my sword." Clover commanded, looking around as if he expected someone to jump out at them.

"Got it!" Brandon saluted and reached down to grab the weapon. "Urg…" He groaned in his attempt to hoist it. The metal was surprisingly heavy, enough for him to lift and probably wield, but definitely too much for him to throw, especially at such an immense height. He dropped the sword onto the ground futilely. "I can't throw it that high!"

"Don't admit defeat! You're a man aren't you!" Clover pressed, swinging his arms in irritancy.

"But I can't do it!" Brandon yelled back at him. "I'm not as strong as you!"

"Hrmm…" Clover sighed, turning over to lie more comfortably in the trap. "Then perhaps you could climb up the tree and cut me loose?"

"I can do that!" Brandon grinned up at his partner and then looked at the tree. It had plenty of branches, but they were a little far apart. Could he make such leaps? He looked back at Clover, cupping his hands around his mouth to yell. "I-I don't think I can jump this high!"

Clover spun around so he could see Brandon down on the floor again. "Yes you can!"

Brandon took in a deep breath and looked back up at the tree. Well… it was worth a shot at least… and with that he leaned back on his haunches and propelled himself upward as hard as he could.

To the boy's great surprise he soared cleanly past the first branch and even a little further than the following. He landed atop it and stared down at his feet. That was unbelievable! He'd never been able to jump this high before.

With new found confidence, Brandon leapt expertly to the next branch and then then next and so forth all the way to the heavy one that held Clover suspended in the air. Brandon crawled out onto the branch and looked down at Clover, who grinned back at him. "Told you."

Brandon laughed and reached into his pockets, retrieving one of the crossbow arrows Arthael had lent him for his journey. He didn't have very many, no more than ten, but he was sure he'd manage. The arrow was very small, hardly past the length of his hand and therefor fit in his hands similarly to a fork. He reached down to Clover and handed him the small weapon. Clover took it thankfully and began to saw away at a few pieces of the rope. Brandon himself grabbed another arrow to help.

With enough determined sawing, the job was done in a few minutes. The rest of the trap gave out from under Clover's weight, freeing him and sending him tumbling to the ground. Fortunately the knight was graceful enough to land cleanly on his feet. Brandon decided to be brave and leap down, right off of the branch as Clover had done and managed to land just as gracefully, if not more, considering his lesser weight.

Clover absentmindedly handed the arrow back to Brandon and stooped down to grab his sword. He righted himself and dropped into a battle stance. "Alright… I'm going to find the creature who dared try to trick a Knight of Fortune and get my revenge!"

"But Clover, you stepped on the trap." Brandon pointed out. "Isn't it your fault?"

"Aw…" Came a little voice and the two boys spun around to find a creature, about half the height of Brandon staring at them, with disappointment in its eyes. The creature wore clothing made from leaves, forming a long skirt and a hat. Its skin was dark brown, the color of tree bark and it had little yellow eyes. Its head was round and it lacked a nose. "…I thought you'd stay caught!"

"So you're the one who set that trap!" Clover declared and pointed his sword at the little creature. "You're not going to get away with this!" With that said, he charged at the small creature, sword at the ready and with the intent to at least capture the little thing. "C'mon!" Clover called to Brandon as he wove in and out of the trees.

"U-Uh, okay!" Brandon yelled and ran to catch up to his friend.

The small creature proved evasive and managed to escape the flat of Clover's sword more than a few times, which seemed to only drive the boy further. The creature giggled and stuck its tongue out at him. "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" It sing-songed and disappeared into the trees.

Clover stopped running and stood in the middle of the forest, looking every which way in an attempt to locate the mischievous critter. Brandon caught up to him and watched as Clover caught the sound of the creature's laugh, following after it. Bye now Brandon was having more than his fair share of fun with this charade and followed, eager to see how the events would unfold.

"Gotcha!" Clover grinned and chased after the newly sighted creature, which shrieked and went on its way running. In the least it was a tenacious little bugger. It leapt up onto a rock, overgrown with moss and small plants, for a breather, until the blade of Clover's sword came smashing onto it. The nimble creature escaped and the sword bounced off of the stone with a clang. Clover took a moment to recover from such an unsettling hit and returned to glaring at the creature that stood on top of the rock, making faces and sticking out its tongue.

Clover would have jumped up after it, had the rock not begun to quiver and an irritated grunt not escaped from the folds of the stone. The boys took a step back as the boulder lifted itself from the ground with limbs that had only now became apparent, all made of complete stone. Its crumpled stony face contorted with anger as it began to comprehend Clover's attack.

"Eh?" Clover looked down at his sword before grinning apologetically. "I apologize for disturbing your nap stone beast. I am in a bit of a hurry."

The monster was clearly, unamused as it began to step closer to them, slowly, threateningly at first, before it let out an unbridled roar and began to charge at them.

The boys screamed and turned on their heels, dodging tree after tree in an attempt to escape the monster. Said trees were turned over in the path of the attacker as it ripped toward them with sudden rage.

"IYEEEEEEEEE!" Came a shrill scream and Brandon took a moment to look back and catch a glimpse of the mischievous creature, now trapped in one of the bushes, grown to the monster's back, unable to get free. Brandon turned back to Clover who pumped his arms up and down in an attempt to run more quickly. "What's the plan!"

"We're going to fight it!" Clover declared, holding his sword at the ready.

"That thing!" Brandon shrieked. "How the heck are we going to do that!"

"A knight must always be brave in the face of danger! Running away is a sign of cowardice and therefore an insult!" With that Clover spun on his heels and held his sword before him, standing his ground bravely as the massive creature charged into him.

Brandon brought himself to a halt, his heels skidding on the dirt as he spun around, expecting to find Clover completely flattened. It's safe to say it was more than a relief to find that Clover's weapon had held strong against the onslaught, while Clover's own strength kept them both in place. The monster shoved forward with all of its might, while Clover pressed back with an almost equal force. His face was contorted in effort with his teeth ground tightly together. Strangled sounds came from the back of his throat from the sheer effort of holding such a massive creature at bay. His feet began to slide back in the dirt, very slowly as the overwhelming weight of the monster lunged at him.

Brandon pulled out his crossbows; both loaded and set to fire, and ran toward the monster. He leapt with his new found agility, onto the creature's back where he proceeded to untangle the smaller creature from the bush. As soon as it had been freed it scrambled away from them and into the trees. Brandon crawled toward the monster's face and leaned over it to see Clover starting to lose his strength. Brandon leaned his upper half down over the creature's face and aimed both crossbow's directly into its eyes, firing with instant precision.

The arrows bounced directly off of the stone monster, but caused it to reel back, completely startled. It completely lost its hold on Clover who broke his sword away from the hold and pulled it back behind him. Clover leaned his body back as far as he could, while still maintaining his balance, his legs spread in a powerful stance and his hands gripping the hilt of the sword steadily. "How about this!" He yelled and swung the sword up into the air and back down upon the monster, its flat end slamming into the monster's forehead.

There was a silence as the monster just stood there, until it began to sway left and right until finally dropping back onto the ground with Brandon still lying on top of it, completely unconscious. Clover stood in front of it, panting and dropped the blade of his weapon onto the ground, as it had become difficult to hold up after so much constant strain.

He looked up at Brandon and grinned, straighting himself from his battle stance finally. "Never… back down from a fight…" He breathed, hunching over his shoulders weakly.

Brandon jumped from the monster and landed squarely next to his friend, grinning and laughing at their victory. He looked back at the unconscious creature for a moment. "We should probably get out of here before it wakes up. I bet it'll be pretty mad."

"Sounds good." Clover hoisted his sword up and onto his shoulder, where he stood triumphantly in front of his victim.

"But where the heck are we?" Brandon looked at the boy and swung his arms around. "We've been running for so long I completely lost track!"

Clover whipped his head around then scratched at his neck. "Uh… no problem I'll just… er…"

"…can…can I help?" Came a meek voice. Brandon and Clover turned toward it to see the small creature from earlier peering at them from behind the tree.

Clover pointed his sword in its direction and called out, "Come out here and face me!"

"I'm sorry…" The creature murmured and shuffled toward them, fixing its leafy skirt. "I didn't mean to cause THIS much trouble…" It looked up at them apologetically. "I know the way out of here. I'll lead you there if you want…"

"Humph." Clover huffed and rested his sword onto his shoulder once again, eyeing the creature skeptically.

"That would be great!" Brandon cried in response and knelt down to offer the small creature his hand. "I'm Brandon!"

The creature shyly shook the boy's much larger hand. "…um. I'm Brich."


End file.
